How Are Sign Companies Handling Requoting?

Are there any really good, efficient and less-expensive solar options to run signs?

Searching “solar powered signs” on Google, we found inexpensive residential street numbers and common road signs available, plus some small LED lightboxes and billboards. One company offering weatherproof, double-sided stand-up illuminated displays is Sunsign (sunsigncontrols.com). The company’s website states that “maximum charging can occur even on cloudy or overcast days to illuminate the sign visibility into the night. State-of-the-art bright LED backlight lighting and controls provide automatic nighttime turn on.” We cannot comment as to whether they satisfy the “less-expensive” option, but give them a look.

Is neon dead or not?

Banish the thought! Neon is most certainly not dead. It’s certainly true that advances in LED lighting have cut into neon’s market share. However, for many large or outdoor installations, experts tell us faux neon does not look as good — that it’s better suited for smaller, indoor projects. According to our 2025 Big Survey, 33% of responding companies offer neon signs (see ST, Mid-March 2025, page 10). While it’s also true that far fewer companies manufacture neon signs compared to years ago, some customers still demand the unique nature of neon and that is keeping it very much alive.

We asked the ST Brain Squad: How are other signshops addressing the need to requote when estimates are older than 30 days?

• We state how long the proposal is good for so there is no question.
• I have, personally, not experienced backlash from customers when I inform them the quote is only good for 30 days. I explain that prices in this industry fluctuate.
• “Unfortunately some pricing has changed for supplies and materials. Here is the updated pricing based on the most up-to-date materials pricing.”
• Some customers question additional incremental increases. If our material or outsource prices actually changed, we honestly express that costs went up.
• Clients understand. We just explain that there are some things out of our control.
• Advance communication is key. If you simply rely on the customer reading the fine print in your estimate, you’re likely to get pushback if you need to increase pricing.
• It depends on if it is a bid or a normal proposal. With a bid we end up having to hold our pricing. We can renegotiate proposals if necessary but don’t most of the time.
• We have been able to honor all pricing except for EMCs.
• As a large-format commercial printer, we haven’t really seen any tariff-driven price increases. If a customer quotes something with us and wants to pull the trigger even after the 30 days we usually honor the price.
• We usually keep our same prices for 6 months, sometimes a year.